Stanislava Strobachová

A classical ballad motif about an aging father and his three daughters is quite unusually here set against the backdrop of Czechoslovakia of the 1950s. After having been expropriated, the former landowner Majda seeks refuge with his three daughters whom he had sent to a convent a long time ago. But only the youngest one is able to forgive him and she is willing to take care of him despite the threat of expulsion from the order.

Venice Film Festival 1939

Ríša, a student of law, neglects his studies in favour of parties and pranks. His angry father refuses to continue helping him out of his debts. Ríša, however, is not entirely beyond hope. He decides to go and stay for a while with his uncle, a priest, who lives in Moravia, in order to prepare for his exams. He meets Helenka, the timid daughter of the local gamekeeper, at a village ball and is enchanted by her. The days pass and their idyllic relationship begins to tire Ríša. He begins to tell Helenka about his former debauched life the about the broken hearts of beautiful women. Helenka is hurt and refuses to see Ríša anymore. His uncle, the priest, is incensed at his behaviour and orders his nephew out of the house. Ríša tries desperately to find Helenka so he can make it up to her.

Jan Cimbura

Okouzlená

Žíznivé mládí

Czechoslovak counter-espionage intercepts a coded message from the West German secret service ordering death for an unknown person on Czech territory.

Shown in Cannes 1946.

At the end of the First World War, Nikola Shuhai and his friend from the army desert. On the way home, to the village of Kolochava, they both find refuge with baby Jaga. Jaga mixes them a drink to protect them from the deadly bullets. The bachelors must promise to marry her daughters in exchange for a drink, or they will be punished. Nikola finds his home village in poverty. He stands against the powerful and the rich, and they turn the gendarmes against him. Nikola hides from them in the woods, where he will remain even after the end of the war, because nothing has changed for the villagers. Out of poverty and hopelessness, other men join Nikola and together they raid the wealthy. Nikola distributes the obtained booty to the poor and needy, who see him as their protector and hero.

Láska a lidé

Zlé pondělí

Preludium

Turbina

This is a romantic story about a brave, self-made girl, despised daughter of a shepherd. She is not afraid of anything - neither night nor swimming. But the superstitious villagers are telling weird stories about her and about all sorts of strange things, even her conjunction with the powers of hell.

Poetic story of a proletarian couple's relationship in the years of economic crisis and unemployment.

Second half of the 19th century. In a small town in South Bohemia, fifth-former Jan Ratkin is living through the confusions of first love together with his classmates.

Paradajs

Gazdina roba

Previerka lásky

Začátek dlouhého podzimu

Úraz

Malý Bobeš ve městě

Mysterie-buffa

První jízdní

Chléb, který jíte

Nebožtík Nasredin

Čtvrtý obratel

Útěk do Budína

Obyčejný člověk

Den velkého hněvu

Komedie o Anešce, královně siciliánské

TV play adapted from humorous novel by Kingsley Amis (1954).

Matka

Šek, na kterém chyběl podpis

Kára

Skandál v Březůvce

Strom vědění dobrého

Prokop Diviš

Člověk odjinud

Školní večírek

Karolina aneb Příběh ze starých časů

In 1947 by the Beskid mountains, the traces of war still linger, destroyed tanks dispersed throughout the farmland creating an eerie backdrop. This film follows a ten-year-old boy and the strange visions he encounters, his world of fantasy exacerbated with ample time, space, and a lack of companionship or guidance. We see the adults that influence and dominate his life, for better or for worse. Surreal and packed with an excellent study of human emotions and motivations compounded by their rural, isolated vacuum of a town, this is a timeless and severely underrated film from a brilliant Czech director.